This season is basically done (and, really, has been since July). Reading this article, I decided to start the 2022 Roster Thread. Surprising for the happy-go-lucky people at Hot time in Old Town, but they basically say everybody should go...except Shuttleworth, Bornstein and (of course) G Slonina! Aliseda is out of shape and on a DP contract for next season. They think it would be hard to move him. I would say that is true within MLS, but moving him to a team in Europe or South America should be doable. They are, finally, harsh on Gimenez and Calvo. Also, Beric is a lost cause. They speculate that Medran is heading back to Spain and Sekulic will be gone. I disagree about Sekulic. Here is my Keep/Dump/Meh list for 2022. Note, I am not spending much time on this so I did not look at the contract status of the players. There is plenty of time for that. This is just based on how I have watched them play (or not play). I am surprised by the number of "Keeps" I have. Frankly, everyone of them (except Luka and Slonina) are easily replaceable. Keep I. Aliseda 7 Forward Senior International, Young Designated Player He has shown flashes of being a very good player. However, if they can get a decent buck for him-he gone. J. Durán Forward Geez, the guy isn't even here yet, and one of the top 100 young players in the world according to the Guardian, I guess we have to "keep" him. B. Gutierrez 40 Midfielder Supplemental Slots 25-28 Homegrown You all seem to really like the kid. I haven't seen anything to give me that impression, but I will agree with the general consensus. S. Ivanov 99 Forward Senior International Still waiting to see what he brings to the table, but he is young, energetic and may be good. J. Kappelhof 4 Defender Senior Our longest lasting player. If he has anything left, keep him. If not, he can go. Á. Medrán 10 Midfielder Senior Another player who has shown flashes of being decent. M. Navarro 6 Defender Senior I guess we should keep him. F. Navarro 31 Midfielder Senior International, U22 Initiative He just arrived, too early to dump him. M. Pineda 22 Defender Supplemental Slots 21-24 Homegrown Another guy the BigSoccer crowd seems (seemed?) to really like. I imagine that there are better players out there, but a decent "squad" player and, maybe much better than that. B. Sekulic 2 Defender Senior International Our most consistent player, not that Frankowksi is gone. B. Shuttleworth 1 Goalkeeper Senior One of the very few highlights of this season has been Shuttleworth in goal. G. Slonina 32 Goalkeeper Supplemental Slots 29-30 Homegrown Well, Duh! Of course we keep the Slonina. N. Slonina 25 Defender Supplemental Slots 21-24 Homegrown We may never see this Slonina on the field, but MORE SLONINA, please! L. Stojanovic 8 Midfielder Senior Our only offensive threat this season. He has come back from injury very well. He could be an excellent component to a good team. Too bad we don't have that now. C. Terán 23 Defender Senior International He has shown just enough to deserve to stay. In other words, he has not shown enough to command a decent transfer fee. DUMP R. Beric 27 Forward Senior Designated Player I like Beric, but there is nothing there. J. Bornstein 3 Defender Senior He has been our best defender this year, but he is 37 and way past prime. Keep and make him a coach? F. Calvo 5 Defender Senior Goodbye! Save $900,000 and a bunch of bonehead plays each season. E. Collier 28 Forward Senior Uh, I probably do not have to provide an opinion to the multi-year "winner" of the Chad Barrett Sucky Chicago Fire forward Award (and he is way worse than Chad f'n Barrett). G. Giménez 30 Midfielder Senior International, Designated Player Worst Designated Player signing by the Fire (and that is saying something). $4,500,000 transfer fee and $2.5 million a year for a couple of years of suckage. F. Herbers 21 Forward Senior I thought Herbers looked good his first season. He has regressed terribly. K. Kronholm 18 Goalkeeper Senior Decent, but $630,000 for a third string goalie? No, thanks. C. Offor 9 Forward Senior International Probably too early to dump Offor, but he has shown virtually nothing this season. Maybe keep him around another year and see if he develops. He is pretty inexpensive. A. Reynolds 36 Defender Supplemental Slots 29-30 Homegrown Haven't seen enough of him to keep, but have seen enough not to keep him. Meh?!? Won't make a difference either way C. Brady 34 Goalkeeper Supplemental Slots 25-28 Homegrown WHO? He is one of the lowest rated MLS players on FIFA. J. Casas 37 Midfielder Supplemental Slots 25-28 Homegrown WHO? Maybe keep the homegrown kid. J. Espinoza 14 Defender Senior International I know he has played, but I don't think I would recognize him on the field. Again, a young, inexpensive international. Let's see if he is worth anything. A. Monis 38 Forward Supplemental Slots 25-28 Homegrown Maybe he will get to see the field. W. Omsberg 20 Defender Supplemental Slots 21-24 The very definition of Meh?!? A decent enough "squad" player, I guess. A. Rodriguez 39 Midfielder Signed Homegrown No idea who this player is. [My list has lovely thumbnail pictures of the players from the Fire website, but the BigSoccer weasels stated i could not have a post with more than 10 images. Bastards!)
Honestly the team is poor, and whether any of these guys stay or go will hardly make a difference. Anyone making more than $300k and / or not delivering need to go. All of the below guys need to take a major payout or hit the bricks. Ignacio Aliseda $ 600,000.00 $821,501.00 - Need to see more from him to justify the cost Robert Beric $2,274,996.00 $2,703,164.00 - Dead weight, time to move on Jonathan Bornstein $300,000.00 $323,200.00 - Too old and too expensive Francisco Calvo $830,000.00 $902,600.00 - liability time to move on Gaston Gimenez $2,058,000.00 $2,358,667.00 - Dead weight time to move on Kenneth Kronholm $569,000.00 $632,000.00 - too expensive for a second string goalkeeper Bottom line is this, the team as it stands today is not going to be a draw, and signing a bunch of other unknown players isn’t going to solve it. Management should free up salary space with the above and try to land one or more of the below players: Paulinho - https://www.transfermarkt.us/paulinho/profil/spieler/57229 Luis Suarez - https://www.transfermarkt.us/luis-suarez/profil/spieler/44352 Modric - https://www.transfermarkt.us/luka-modric/profil/spieler/27992 Di María - https://www.transfermarkt.us/angel-di-maria/profil/spieler/45320 None of the above are long term solutions, but they could be a catalyst to shocking an otherwise unremarkable team into action like what we saw with Schweinsteiger. More importantly, it would create some excitement for a team that Chicago currently doesn’t even think about. If we stay by the course I expect attendances in the 8-15k range in 2022, and it won’t be a pretty sight.
maybe I'm being too optimistic but it seems like Mansueto is taking the ancillary steps toward a big offseason when a lot of bad contracts roll off the books, including two DPs feels like we're in for a splashy offseason
And if he is doesn't make a splash this off season and lets Wicky and Heitz rebuild the way they want to?
I don't disagree with any of this. Although, I think Aliseda is good enough to stay, he has to "earn" that $821,000 in 2022. Again, if somebody wants to take him off of our hands, that's fine with me. As for your four stars to bring in: -Suarez would be intriguing (assuming he stopped biting people!!!). He is still playing at a high level at Atletico Madrid. An amazing goal scorer. His record in Holland, the EPL (which sucks) and in Spain speaks for itself. -Modric would make many of us cry, I think. He would be 37 by next Summer, though. That being said he is still a major contributor for Real Madrid. The level of skill and professionalism he would be bring would be Bastian-like. Of course, the Fire would have find a goal scorer. Who does not adore Luka Modric? -Di Maria would probably a good choice on field, but not sure if he would move the attendance needle at all. Boy, did he suck at Manchester United (but the EPL sucks, so there is that). -Not sure about Paulinho's salary demands, but since he is without a club and "only" 33, he could be an amazing pick up. Although I wonder why he only lasted 2 months in the Middle East.
gonna be pretty hard to get excited even if Wicky and Heitz get their way, you gotta figure Beric and Giminez are gone and two new DPs are here, so there will be, at minimum, some intrigue
Not if they are two guys nobody has ever heard of (unless they set the league on fire like Giovinco did).
I have some professional thoughts and comments. I really don't think he has anything left. He hasn't seen the pitch in a long time and probably should've been traded a while ago. Not because I don't like him, but because that's when his market value would've worked in our favor. Now it's kinda just meh. I'd love to keep him, but he's already gone (at least emotionally). I think he's going back to La Liga soon after proving himself (somewhat) here. Bobby has looked good this season, much better than I think many expected based on how he was in Minny and New England. But, with Gaga looking ready to start already, Bobby's just a mentor to the kids now. At least he's already getting paid like it. Why would anyone like Beric? Elliot Collier in himself is a post modern commentary on the club itself. Doing everything and getting nowhere. He is soccer's Kim McQuilken, which means that honestly I'm more interested in what he's gonna do when he retires. I would like him to stay on the Fire's payroll for as long as possible just because. I'd argue Freddie Ljunberg or maybe Federico Puppo. Then again, we didn't pay that much for those two. And Puppo scored a couple at some point. I think that Herbers' ability is that of a reptile. He doesn't really give off any heat on his own, so he matches the temperature of the room. If the team plays well, he matches that. If the team sucks, he matches that as well. I think htat he's got the ability to be a solid bench option for an MLS Cup winning team, but also a trash bench option for the Fire. So yeah, dump him. "Decent"? Probably the worst goalkeeping I've ever seen. And I've watched myself play goalkeeper before! Both should be "Keep". I keep getting into arguments with people about Offor, but I really do think that he's shown enough to stay on the roster as forward depth behind a real DP striker. He has good ideas, good movement, it's just that he's slightly out of sync with everyone else. And we all know how many problems there are with "everyone else". And Dre literally just has not gotten a chance. I've heard that he's done well in Memphis. I just really want him to get a real shot before getting dumped. Chris Brady almost won Goalkeeper of the Year in USL League One for Forward Madison while playing just a portion of the season. As his first professional action in his career. As someone who used to genuinely scout the MLS SuperDraft, I can say that FIFA has no clue how to rate young players in MLS. While I've made jokes about him on my podcast, it looks like Chris Brady is joining Gaga Slonina to make up two very good and talented prospects in goal for the Fire.
I won't quote you just to make this shorter: 1. Agree on Kappelhoff. If he has nothing left, he should leave. There is more than a bit of sentiment in my comment about him. 2. Agree on Medran. I think he will leave, but we "should" try to keep him. 3. Again, I agree on Shuttleworth. As a mentor to Slonina or whomever and occasional starter, he is worth keeping. 4. Beric was second in the league in scoring last season. That is why I like him, but he should go. 5. Collier should not be on the payroll of any professional soccer team. I am not sure what profession would be better from him, but certainly soccer. 6. Ljunberg was an world-class player and was not bad for the Fire (even if he was disinterested). Puppo NEVER scored for the Fire*. Ljunberg did. Also, I don't think paid much of anything for Ljunberg (yep a second round 2001 MLS Crapshoot pick). Now Alvaro Fernandez was Gimenez level bad, but he did score a couple of goals for the Fire. 7. We agree on Herbers. 8. Are you confusing Kronholm with Richard Sanchez? Sanchez was terrible and much worse than Kronholm, who was "decent" but nothing more. 9. Offor has demonstrated so little ability that it is hard to justify keeping him. That being said, he is so young that keeping him another year to see if he can develop would be fine. Hence, my saying "Probably too early to dump Offor." 10. Brady. Again, I know nothing about him, hence the "Meh" on keeping him or not. The fact that he played at Forward Madison and "almost" won an award in a third tier league does not really further your point. Again, he is young, inexpensive and there is no harm in keeping him or letting him go...other than he takes up a roster spot. *https://www.mlssoccer.com/players/federico-puppo/stats/
And this is why Heitz should be fired. No one expects every signing to hit, but this guy has had so many misses, that a second rebuild is in order because there is nothing in the cupboard. He should not be the architect of the Titanic II.
Keep: - Bobby Shuttleworth: He's done well as a starter and he's a good guy to have to help transition Slonina into the starting job. - Gabriel Slonina: Our most talented keeper - Chris Brady: Insurance in case Slonina's development derails at any point. - Boris Sekulic: He's been one of our better players this season, which isn't saying much, but he's solid. - Carlos Teran: Bought as a developmental prospect and starting to scratch the surface of his potential. Still error prone, but we're seeing improvements. - Mauricio Pineda: Solid young player. Can compete with Teran for the RCB spot and fill in for F. Navarro for rotational or injury purposes. - Wyatt Omsberg: Nothing spectacular about him but he's a backup level player and we've struggled to add that kind of quality to our bench. - Miguel Angel Navarro: I don't know about him being a starter but he's cheap enough to keep around as a backup at least. ' - Federico Navarro: We just bought him - Alvaro Medran: I seriously doubt he stays, but I would absolutely love to keep him. All things considered, he has done his job well. Imagine if the teammates around him weren't buffoons. - Luka Stojanovic: Sadly our best attacking threat. Wicky plays him far too deep as well. Whether as a top super sub option or as a starting 10, Luka is someone you can play in this league. - Stanislav Ivanov: Haven't loved what I've seen but I also do not think he's been put in positions to succeed yet. Half a season coming off of injury isn't enough for me to judge him yet, so I would keep him and give him next season to prove himself. - Chinonso Offor: There's potential although he isn't ready for the role he was given this year. Scale back his role, see what he can do next season, and then evaluate him at that point again. - Fabian Herbers: Not a great season for him, but he's done enough previously to be given another opportunity. He's a rotational piece in this league. - Gutierrez, Monis, Casas, Rodriguez,...: Academy kids.. They're cheap, let them develop, and we'll see later. I'm not sure: - Jhonny Espinoza: He hasn't impressed and the spot he was suppose to take over is secured by Sekulic. Whether he plays as an underwhelming backup or doesn't return, I'm indifferent at this point. - Johnny Bornstein: In a season where the fans and players have had a huge disconnect, Bornstein made efforts to bridge that gap. Good veteran presence, but he's expensive and getting older. If he can sign on for less and play LCB in a pinch, perhaps there is a number that doesn't handicap us cap wise that he is happy to return to. - Andre Reynolds: Been here a while and never really developed into something. Perhaps he can be a low end backup, but that's not necessarily a need. End of roster slot or move on. - Elliott Collier: You can do far worse for your end of roster slot. The problem is he not only finds himself consistently in the 18 man lineup, he often enough gets played in games. If he can be kept in the role he is meant for he is good to bring back, if not he badly needs to be upgraded. Dump: - Kenneth Kronholm: Good guy but too much money for our most "well taken care" of position. - Francisco Calvo: The David Luiz of MLS. Far too error prone. Plug should have been pulled last year. - Johan Kappelhof: Salary is far too high for someone that has declined a good bit from his All Star days. - Gaston Gimenez: What a waste. Early on he showed glimpses, then he didn't even do that. What was once attributed to an adjustment period ended up being sheer laziness and an absolute lack of desire to be better. - Ignacio Aliseda: Absolutely lazy player without a desire to reach his potential. Cut ties and bring in a much higher potential, lower risk YDP from South America. - Robert Beric: Very good in his first season, absolute disaster in his second. Not worth bringing back for a third season to see which version we can get. Bring in: - Veteran LCB to pair with Teran/Pineda. Someone that can command the back line and is dependable and can cover up for any errors from the young CBs. - Attacking 8. Assuming Medran isn't brought back, we definitely need a high level 8 that can create for others and keep possession. Funny enough, Djordje could have filled this role easily. - Attackers at DP. We definitely will need a striker (I don't want to depend on Duran this early) and a winger/10 that can complement that striker. - Recognizable names at DP. We need to fill seats. Whether it's Mexican internationals or proven players in the European leagues, we need that. Mock off-season: - Sign Orbelin Pineda - Sign JJ Macias - Find young South American 8 to fill YDP. - TAM CB - U22 #10 who can play at RW too ----------------------------------Macias (Duran/Offor) O.Pineda(Gutierrez/Offor)---Luka (U22)-----Ivanov(U22/Offor) ----------------------YPD(Herbers)------F.Navarro(M.Pineda) Navarro(Bornstein)--TAMCB(Omsberg)--Teran(M.Pineda)--Sekulic(Espinoza) --------------------------------------Slonina(Shuttleworth)
I think we all basically agree on this part of the list: Dump: - Kenneth Kronholm: Good guy but too much money for our most "well taken care" of position. - Francisco Calvo: The David Luiz of MLS. Far too error prone. Plug should have been pulled last year. - Johan Kappelhof: Salary is far too high for someone that has declined a good bit from his All Star days. (again, I would like to keep him, but that is nostalgia) - Gaston Gimenez: What a waste. Early on he showed glimpses, then he didn't even do that. What was once attributed to an adjustment period ended up being sheer laziness and an absolute lack of desire to be better. - Ignacio Aliseda: Absolutely lazy player without a desire to reach his potential. Cut ties and bring in a much higher potential, lower risk YDP from South America. - Robert Beric: Very good in his first season, absolute disaster in his second. Not worth bringing back for a third season to see which version we can get. Maybe keep Aliseda, but, again, if some team comes along with an offer, good bye. This, on the other hand, you have in the "keep" column: - Elliott Collier: You can do far worse for your end of roster slot. The problem is he not only finds himself consistently in the 18 man lineup, he often enough gets played in games. If he can be kept in the role he is meant for he is good to bring back, if not he badly needs to be upgraded. Two points: 1. I agree that the problem is that he is far from the "end of the roster," as he is a regular player and sometime starter. 2. We could do far better for the end of the roster slot. I mean sure we could do "worse." The Fire could sign Jeffrey Dahmer, and he would likely eat the Sloninas. That would be worse.
Keep: (much is what Tyrus said..bold are my changes) - Bobby Shuttleworth: He's done well as a starter and he's a good guy to have to help transition Slonina into the starting job. - Gabriel Slonina: Our most talented keeper. I would say has the best potential. - Chris Brady: Insurance in case Slonina's development derails at any point. - Boris Sekulic: He's been one of our better players this season, which isn't saying much, but he's solid. Since Frankowski has gone he has been our best as a whole to me. - Carlos Teran: Bought as a developmental prospect and starting to scratch the surface of his potential. Still error prone, but we're seeing improvements. - Mauricio Pineda: Solid young player. Can compete with Teran for the RCB spot and fill in for F. Navarro for rotational or injury purposes. I wonder if he can play LCB. - Wyatt Omsberg: Nothing spectacular about him but he's a backup level player and we've struggled to add that kind of quality to our bench. - Miguel Angel Navarro: I don't know about him being a starter but he's cheap enough to keep around as a backup at least. ' Definitely need to upgrade here if he is to start. - Federico Navarro: We just bought him. Looks promising...tons of energy. - Alvaro Medran: I seriously doubt he stays, but I would absolutely love to keep him. All things considered, he has done his job well. Imagine if the teammates around him weren't buffoons. - Luka Stojanovic: Sadly our best attacking threat. Wicky plays him far too deep as well. Whether as a top super sub option or as a starting 10, Luka is someone you can play in this league. Should never track back as he sucks defensively. Much of a donwgrade after Frankowski. - Stanislav Ivanov: Haven't loved what I've seen but I also do not think he's been put in positions to succeed yet. Half a season coming off of injury isn't enough for me to judge him yet, so I would keep him and give him next season to prove himself. I will judge him as unworthy. - Chinonso Offor: There's potential although he isn't ready for the role he was given this year. Scale back his role, see what he can do next season, and then evaluate him at that point again. - Fabian Herbers: Not a great season for him, but he's done enough previously to be given another opportunity. He's a rotational piece in this league. - Gutierrez, Monis, Casas, Rodriguez,...: Academy kids.. They're cheap, let them develop, and we'll see later. I'm not sure: - Jhonny Espinoza: He hasn't impressed and the spot he was suppose to take over is secured by Sekulic. Whether he plays as an underwhelming backup or doesn't return, I'm indifferent at this point. - Johnny Bornstein: In a season where the fans and players have had a huge disconnect, Bornstein made efforts to bridge that gap. Good veteran presence, but he's expensive and getting older. If he can sign on for less and play LCB in a pinch, perhaps there is a number that doesn't handicap us cap wise that he is happy to return to. - Andre Reynolds: Been here a while and never really developed into something. Perhaps he can be a low end backup, but that's not necessarily a need. End of roster slot or move on. - Elliott Collier: You can do far worse for your end of roster slot. The problem is he not only finds himself consistently in the 18 man lineup, he often enough gets played in games. If he can be kept in the role he is meant for he is good to bring back, if not he badly needs to be upgraded. Should be LONG GONE. Dump: - Kenneth Kronholm: Good guy but too much money for our most "well taken care" of position. - Francisco Calvo: The David Luiz of MLS. Far too error prone. Plug should have been pulled last year. Odd how he seems to play very well for Costa Rica. - Johan Kappelhof: Salary is far too high for someone that has declined a good bit from his All Star days. - Gaston Gimenez: What a waste. Early on he showed glimpses, then he didn't even do that. What was once attributed to an adjustment period ended up being sheer laziness and an absolute lack of desire to be better. - Ignacio Aliseda: Absolutely lazy player without a desire to reach his potential. Cut ties and bring in a much higher potential, lower risk YDP from South America. - Robert Beric: Very good in his first season, absolute disaster in his second. Not worth bringing back for a third season to see which version we can get. Bring in: Lewandowski and Modric for fandom (and still damn good). Minor upgrades at LB. Keep Medran. I can dream.
I don’t see Lewandowski being open to leaving Bayern until after the 2022 World Cup, so not until the 2023 season. He’s exactly the type of player this team needs though. The team certainly would do better than 10k a game…
I keep saying that Elliot Collier is the hardest working player on the team. He's not good and his best is barely even enough to make the bench on a good team (if he consistently plays at 125% of his power all the time). There were points this season where he was the best player on the pitch for the Fire. Which is a very scary thing to say because he shouldn't be. He's clearly not good enough to be that person. It's just that everyone else around him was underperforming so much. So you're absolutely right that in a general sense, he'd be a good guy to keep around as emergency depth, stashed away on a small contract in the reserves. Because when he gets on the pitch, he plays like his life depends on it. But if we keep him around as key depth, the first guy we turn to once the clock hits 60, we're still fvcked.
too bad Nacho is lazy because he clearly has some ability what does it mean to "cut ties" with someone under contract in the MLS? the spectrum I know is player friendly on one end (NBA, buy out contracts but very painful for a team to move on from guys and bad contracts) and NFL (player unfriendly, much easier to cut guys, cap hits are an issue)
I am not going anywhere near that hill. Collier is not good soccer player. He is like a baby giraffe with a caveman beard that is just learning how to run.
I hereby propose to rename this award the Nery Castillo, or maybe the Elliot Collier. Chad Barret scored 18 goals for us in 3 seasons, it would take Collier about 1000 seasons to hit that number, if he improved.